A/N: Welcome back to more vampshit. It's late because I accidentally fell asleep face down in my keyboard and didn't wake up for 16 hours. Rip.
DarkyLonewolf: SHiiiiiit, I totally diiiiid. Sorry friend! You're first on the list this time! Its totally okay about the lack of things to say, my review box is for anything you want/need to say! I'm glad my stuff is of good quality though! Thank you!
Reynabot: I really appreciate those little things when watching or reading something romancy, something as small as holding onto their sleeve, or sitting a little closer to them than anyone else, or knowing where the spoons are in their house. Shits great. Thanks friend!
GeminiAlchemist: Daww utterly achieved. Mission accomplished.
Magicantix: Vague voodoo elder man, you gotta stick through till the end, its part of the job. (Here's the real question tho, where's the honeymoon?)
TheHybridGryph: To be honest I identify with Akko on that level. Sometimes my brain just fogs over, and information just takes forever to get in. That reminds me, I should rewatch lwa with a youth development textbook sometime, see if understanding Akko's brain better makes her easier to write. There will be many more chapters to come my dude, I hope you continue enjoying them!
COMPOUND
Memory was a fragile thing: stopping and starting, different lines of consciousness cutting and connecting all on the whims of the human mind. To the currently fogged and rattled Akko Kagari, memory was naught but a concept: something she was aware existed, but had no personal experience with.
What was 'personal' anyway?
Chilling darkness surrounded her like the suffocating depths of the sea, the weight of the void crushing down against her lungs and heart. She felt lost- untethered, pointlessly looking around at the same inky blackness that existed everywhere regardless of perspective; trying to discern anything tangible from the crowd of formless shadows.
What was she looking for?
Herself?
What was 'self'?
What did 'her' mean?
It was too hard to think about. Thinking was so tiring, existing was so tiring; sleep was better, nothingness was better.
The nothingness was her friend, it would help her sleep.
"So that's where she'd gone..." A soft voice hummed, ripping through the absolute silence of the void; the shadows nearly leaping away from her at the sound. "Release it my darlings; Mistress would be quite unhappy if her new toy was broken."
Consciousness came crashing down on top of her, the shadows having retreated fully like the tides before a great wave. Her eyes snapped open, revealing a very unfamiliar ceiling drenched in the orange light of dusk.
Dusk. The sun was going down she needed to get inside she needed to lock the doors she needed to-
"Calm yourself! The demons of the night are no longer of any concern. Be still." The brunette's attention was tilted sideways as strong yet deceivingly small arms pressed her to the bed. stopping her from thrashing around under the duvet and potentially hurting herself.
A young girl stood next to her bed, a slightly concerned yet calm expression on her porcelain features. Her short ginger hair was styled into a neat bob, a spotless white lace headband keeping any unnecessary locks out of her emerald eyes. The rest of her outfit was equally pristine, a resplendent black maid's dress complete with frilly apron falling down to around her knees, the remaining stretch of her legs covered with white tights.
There were so many possible questions to ask in that moment, namely why a rich noble's maid was within a hundred metres of her, but the sting that her shifting blankets caused in the side of her neck answered many of them automatically.
"Where- where am I?" She stumbled, gently reaching her hand up to confirm the existence of two circular puncture wounds directly over her jugular vein. They were healed somewhat, raising yet another question, concerning to the length of time she had been sleeping for.
The maid clapped her hands together, her face twisting up into an excitable smile. "This is the seat of our lord and lady; Queen of the Night!" Her lips parted to reveal a set of perfect white teeth, her canines extending tellingly far past where they should have normally stopped.
Akko's blood ran cold; her primal human instincts screaming 'predator'- begging her to run away, fight, anything, but her body remained locked in place.
"Mistress is very eager to see you." The demonic maiden notified, her saccharine grin looking anything but genuine. "We've never had human guests before- you must be something deliciously special."
Swallowing her fear, the brunette nodded, recognizing the underlying threat: her position as the queen's personal blood dispenser was the only thing keeping her alive. She noted the steel bars on the windows of her bedroom, the pair of manacles sitting ready for her next to a lovely scarlet dress like just another piece of the outfit.
"Our lady has already been notified of your awakening. She wishes for you to join her in the main hall."
There was very little in that sentence that made it sound optional, and so, as much as she would rather remain unconscious in the most comfortable bed she'd ever slept on, the brunette ceded to the vampire's wishes and began rolling out of bed.
The girl was still feeling rather dizzy from the previous night's feeding, and thus silently pleaded to God, the Devil, or whoever would hear her, that she was not on the menu tonight.
The halls of the Castle Keep were empty and silent; every corner they turned made the interior look as immortal as the beings inhabiting it, not a creaky floorboard, dusty cobweb, or decorative flower the slightest bit wilted. Out each tall glass window Akko passed, she could watch as the sun fall below the horizon, feeling its warmth slowly ebb away, replaced by the familiar chill of fear.
As the brunette followed her captor's servant towards the dining hall, the jangling of chains from around her ankles was a constant; despite how lovely the dress was, how perfectly the corset hugged her body, how beautiful the castle looked, it stopped her from ever feeling at ease.
But she chose this: life over death, imprisonment over eternal freedom; if the girl wanted to ever find peace, she would have to get used to that sound.
The pair inevitably came to what looked like a secondary foyer, a set of stairs leading down to their left, the hallway continuing ahead and wrapping around the edges of the top floor as a kind of balcony. At the top of the stairs was a set of double doors, voices of vile things audible through the mahogany, laughing and shouting together; the maid gestured to it with an open hand, tilting her head in a half bow.
"Our mistress awaits you. Please remember your manners."
Gathering all of her courage, Akko slowly shuffled towards the door, tentatively placing a hand on the doorknob and allowing it to creak open, recoiling at the sudden scent of blood and decay that escaped. Leaning inside, the castle's new guest was greeted by awe inspiring sight: a grand dining table that stretched the length of the large hall, covered with elaborate decorations and fine linens that at the moment were utterly drenched with viscera as demons of all shapes and sizes gorged themselves on the feast.
At the head of the table, gingerly swishing a glass of something viscous and red, was the house's head and the girl's new lady lord, conversing with one of the more human looking devils a few seats away. Unlike many of the creatures that surrounded her, the Queen of the Night seemed almost bored, the lids of her blood red eyes drooping slightly, making the undying, unchanging vampire look tired.
Warily sticking to the walls of the room, Akko slowly made her way to the back, where an empty seat had clearly been reserved for her. The queen caught sight of her just after the halfway point, bringing her wineglass to her lips and downing the entire thing before forcefully slamming it down to the table and shattering it into a hundred pieces.
She did all of this without ever dropping her lock on the brunette's eyes.
"M-Mistress." Akko stuttered, bowing respectfully once at the vampire's side. "I arrive as you requested."
A worrying grin slowly began to part the queen's lips as she wiped the blood and glass shards from her hand with a napkin. "There you are... And already you slip into your role."
With one lightning quick movement, Akko found herself scooped up into the demon's lap, looking wide eyed up at her captor who continued to grin maniacally, grasping hold of her chin.
"Behold, ladies and gentlemen!" She announced loudly, briefly taking her eyes off of the frightened girl to address her other guests. "Our first willing captive!"
The room exploded into cheers and laughter; Akko watched as multiple creatures raised pieces of their meals into the air triumphantly- she saw human arms, legs, and even the severed head of a woman she personally recognized, face frozen into an expression of terror.
"Who knew the devil did favours?!" A lycanthropic man howled, causing the demons to erupt into another round of cackling.
Sitting there, in a room full of the most vile spawn Hell had to offer, the brunette felt her mouth drop open; she would have gone into shock if a cold hand had not grasped her face, turning it away from the sight.
Red met red.
"How are you enjoying your new home so far, darling?" The demoness inquired in a low tone, caressing the girl's cheek. "Is it the horrific purgatory you always dreamed?"
Enjoying the comforting touch, even if it was insincere, Akko leaned into it. "No, Milady. The- The rest of the castle is lovely." She murmured truthfully, looking down towards her shoes where the manacles were visible. "I suppose that's because your demons were all here."
The grin returned, and Akko's eyes honed in on her lady lord's canines. "We keep this kind of mess to the dining hall and dungeons. Even abominations unto God have standards."
She almost laughed at that, but the way her stomach churned drained any possible humor out of the situation. The brunette legitimately wished in that moment for the Stockholm Syndrome to take hold; she was going to be here for the rest of her life- maybe for eternity, and the numbness would help in bearing it.
Leaning into the queen's chest, Akko's eyes glazed as she listened to the sounds of the empty void where a human heart should have been. "My name is Akko, by the way..." She mumbled quietly, not even intending for her voice to be heard over the snarling and laughing that echoed through the hall.
"Ahh... Ko..." The demoness' voice sounded out, as if testing how the syllables felt on her lips. "Silly name, but doesn't take too long to say; I like that."
"Well Akko." She began, raising a hand to beckon a servant to the table. "Are you hungry?"
The brunette was rather surprised by the question, looking up at her captor with furrowed brows. "Pardon, Mistress? I mean I am but-"
"You are here as my personal source of fresh blood, my dear." She interrupted, taking a plate of actual food from the servant and setting it upon the table. "Sustenance is required to replenish blood, is it not?"
"I... Yes Mistress, it is." She agreed, shifting in the queen's lap to sit in her own chair, but before she could remove herself, the demoness grasped her waist and pulled her back.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Yet again, the vampire lord's words made Akko's brow scrunch up, looking with confusion at the pale face that was suddenly so close to her own. "I- To eat my food, Mistress?"
"I didn't tell you to leave." The sudden ferocity in her lady lord's voice made the brunette freeze, swallowing a yelp that very nearly escaped. "Now that I've had you here in my lap..."
"I don't think you'll be needing your own chair anymore."
Akko audibly gulped, feeling the wounds on the side of her neck throb.
"Y-Yes, My lord."
A/N: God damnit I love writing this dumb vampire shit, but I already have two active storiesss. Ask me again for more of this in the future.